M MADHAVAN PILLAI Vs. K A BALAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) A Physics Lecturer of the S.N.M. College, Maliankara -- A private college managed by a Corporate Educational Agency, the H.M.D.P. Sabha, Vadakekara, Parur -- has preferred this appeal against the judgment of the learned Judge dismissing his writ petition. The Principal of the college made an appointment of the Head of the Department of Physics. The appellant was one of those who strongly resented the appointment and regarded it as an act of favouritism. The form and manner of the appellant's protest led to disciplinary proceedings being initiated against him and to his suspension pending enquiry. A junior of the Manager's Standing Counsel was, in the first instance, appointed Enquiry Officer. The appellant protested, and filed O.P. No. 3747 of 1975 in this Court. The Management agreed for appointment of a fresh Enquiry Officer. The 2nd respondent, an Advocate of this Court, was chosen as the fresh Enquiry Officer. The appellant repeated his protest alleging that the said 2nd respondent was intimately associated with the Standing Counsel for the Management. He raised the fundamental and basic objection that the Management was really the accuser against him, and cannot be a Judge in its own cause, against the fundamental principle of natural justice forbidding such a course of action. The Management could not, it was added, do indirectly through the medium of an Enquiry Officer, what it cannot do directly, itself. The learned Judge held that having regard to S.60 of the Kerala University Act, 1974, the Management's action in appointing the Enquiry Officer was legal and valid and not open to challenge and dismissed the writ petition.

(2.) We may extract S.60 of the University Act, 1974.

(3.) The argument of counsel for the appellant was that in a case where the management itself is the accuser or prosecutor, it cannot conduct the enquiry either directly or indirectly and that the rule of natural justice enjoining a person not to be a judge in his own cause, should be applied to disqualify the management in such a case, from conducting or directing the enquiry. It was argued that statute.10(1)(e) should be read down so as to conform to this fundamental principle of natural justice and that the said principle should be read into the Statute. Counsel cited the well known passages from the judgment in Froma United Breweries Company, Limited and another v. Keepers of the Peace and Justices for County Borough of Bath ((1926) AC 586). At page 590 Viscount Cave L.C. stated: